According to Anthony Rieber of Newsday, Jason Kidd did not travel to Milwaukee for tonight’s game and head coach Mike Woodson told reporters that the team didn’t have a sense yet of when he might be ready to return. Kidd has been suffering from back spasms that also forced him to miss New York’s game with Brooklyn earlier this week. Tyson Chandler urged caution for Kidd, an approach it sounds like the Knicks may take:

“I’m more concerned about his health,” Chandler said. “I know he wanted to be there and I know he knows we need him. He doesn’t need any added pressure. I need him to be healthy. I’m looking for this year to be a long one. I’m looking for him to be with us down the stretch. It’s more important that he’s healthy then rather than end of November-December.”

Brian DiMenna

Obviously, losing Kidd for any lengthy stretch would be a big blow for the Knicks. Kidd had been playing at an extremely high level on both ends of the court, and was good for one or two displays of basketball wizardry almost every game. The Felton/Kidd backcourt has been one of the keys to the Knicks’ solid start, but Felton surely seemed to miss Kidd’s presence during the loss in Brooklyn, although in fairness having Kidd probably wouldn’t have deterred Felton from all those off-balance 20-footers. That seemed to just be his deal that night.

Naturally, the Knicks were running the risk of injuries being a problem this season, what with their age-heavy lineup, as creaky backs and the like kind of go with the territory, something that anyone who’s ever walked in on their father doing calisthenics in the AM can attest. But accepting that fact, this still kind of stinks.